Lawmakers also grilled Rutte, who had previously defended Zijlstra despite having known since late January that he had made up the story about Putin.

The resignation came a day after Zijlastre told reporters that he had lied about being present at a meeting in which Putin laid out plans for a "greater Russia" that would include Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic states and possibly Kazakhstan.

The story was questioned by the newspaper Volkskrant, however, which discovered from Zijlstra's colleagues that he had not been at the 2006 business meeting in Russian Federation, despite being part of the Shell delegation. I told a lie. I was tucked away back in the room, but I could clearly hear Putin's answer to the question about what he considered Greater Russia.

Zijlstra's appointment in October raised eyebrows in The Netherlands because of his perceived lack of diplomatic credentials.

'I think he is credible because there is no dispute about the content of the story, ' Rutte said.

Buma said however his party continued to support Zijlstra and would like to see him "return by the end of the week and simply continue with his job".

The Russian Embassy said in a statement that Zijlstra's allegations "do not hold up against any criticism and are only meant to spread false perceptions of Russia's intentions".

Among other things, Zijlstra is due to discuss with Lavrov the Dutch-led probe into the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

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